Opinion:Before another bomb explodes

Posted by admin Headlines Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

The June 12 bomb explosion that rocked the car park of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters, Abuja is a monumental tragedy. The Louis Edet House blast coming soon after the Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, vowed to smoke out the outlawed Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, from Borno State, has far-reaching security implication.

One fact is obvious. There is failure of intelligence. Two, the group is vicious and perhaps invisible. Three, the police is not adequately equipped to battle the group or is incapable of handling the situation. Four, some of the group members might have infiltrated some of nation’s security agencies.

Five, government has not yet decided on how to confront the group, whether to dangle the carrot or use the hammer.
The fact now is that Boko Haram has waged a war against the Nigerian state. It has taken the war to military barracks, police stations and the police headquarters. The country is at war. The terrorists are here and are unleashing mayhem on the citizenry. Government must respond swiftly before more bombs explode and wreck more havoc.

President Goodluck Jonathan must act now. Security is on the main issue now. Government must come out with effective and pragmatic measures to contain the enemies of the state. The nation’s security is under serious threat not only of Boko Haram but other harams. Imagine what the situation will be if the militants begin theirs now and MASSOB and OPC decide to join, the country will be on fire and it will be very difficult to contain. And if things are allowed to fall apart in the country, the centre cannot hold. It will be anarchy everywhere. And it will be no longer at ease.

Whatever might be the grievances of Boko Haram and their sponsors, there is no doubt that many Nigerians are aggrieved one way or the other. Many are feeling short-changed by the Nigerian state. Many people are shut out of the political power game under the current democratic political dispensation that begun on May 29, 1999. Our democratic practice is everything but democratic. The presidential system has created more powerful despots than any other system the country has experimented with. Our president is a powerful one with the powers of life and death. Our governors act like gods. Even our local government chairmen are lords as well. Even the first ladies, an office not recognized by law, are also powerful. The same goes with all our legislators, federal, state and even council.

The booties from politics go to the power brokers-the executives, the godfathers, the legislators, ministers and commissioners, supervisory councillors and their numerous aides and special assistants. In all these, the masses that elected them in office are shut out, hence the orchestrated violence in the land.
Unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, and disease are veritable landmines waiting to explode if detonated. There are millions of able-bodied unemployed but schooled young men and women in Nigeria roaming the streets daily in search of elusive jobs. Majority are within the active age of 20-40 years.

There are yet another group among the jobless that are labelled adolescents, aged (10-19). These are the stuff revolutions are made. An idle hand they say is a devil’s workshop. The jobless youths that abound from Owerri to Lokoja and from Sokoto to Okrika, as well as from Ikom to Ikirun are willing tools for mischief, while Satan takes all the blame. Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating in Nigeria will always find willing recruits among the large army of the unemployed Nigerians indoctrinate them and arm them with dangerous explosives. And before one should say Oghene biko, everywhere is on fire.

The various bomb explosions in the country in recent times have already embarrassed the government and people of Nigeria. We don’t want more of such embarrassments. So, any thought on how to improve security in the country should include providing jobs for the large pool of unemployed Nigerians. If these Nigerians are seriously engaged in profitable ventures, they would have no chance for terrorism. Nigerians are happy people only when they can find shelter, clothing, love and food on the table. If they cannot afford these basic life necessities, happiness will definitely fly away.

It is not in doubt that the country’s internal security is now under serious threat more than ever before. Such threat if not nipped in the bud can undermine the corporate existence of the entity called Nigeria.
The fact that Abuja, the seat of power has witnessed many of these attacks shows that all is indeed not well with our security system. Are the Closed Circuit Televisions (CCTV) installed in Abuja working? What of our satellite in the orbit? How come these messengers of death carry their lethal cargoes undetected? Something is wrong with our security intelligence. The federal government should take the issue of security seriously and deal with all agents of destabilization as represented by Boko Haram. The government should not watch while the group put the lives of Nigerians in perpetual danger. It must act decisively now. This is no time for “talk talk” but action.

The Edet House attack is the most vicious, brutal and well executed in recent times. It has the trappings of a suicide bomber as the attacker also died but police have dismissed such. The attack which left eight people dead and several others wounded and 77 vehicles burnt is horrendous.

We do not need a soothsayer to know that the general insecurity in the land has overwhelmed the police. The problem is beyond what the current leadership of the Force can handle. There is morale sag among the rank and file of the police with accusations of undue favouritism in promotion and postings throughout the country. There are allegations of ethno-religious bias in elevation to the position of police commissioner. Police training institutions are said to lack the requisite equipment for training. Police training should go beyond the symbolic short period recruits are trained at the police college. Time has come for police to be regularly exposed to overseas training in order to enhance their performance.

Another problem hampering operational efficiency of the Force is corruption. If corruption is not curbed, the police cannot do well on matters of security. The more the policemen continue to collect N20, N50 and N100 from motorists, the more our security falters. As long as the top echelon of the Force is doing nothing about the welfare of its rank and file, so long will corruption be dominant. A policeman or policewoman looking for a N20 roja or particulars will not have time to detect a suicide bomber.

He will not be in a good frame of mind to effectively perform his police duties. This is why there is high level of criminality in the land. There is the need to overhaul the police for more effectiveness. Perhaps, police decentralization as well as community policing can be of immense help in this regard. Our security has gone so bad that the police alone cannot handle it. The Armed Forces should complement the police and the State Security Service (SSS).

Kudos to Adike and Asiabaka
This is indeed the best of times for the people of Awo-Idemili in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State. Two of their sons, Mr. Chibueze John Adike of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), and Professor Cyril Chigozie Asiabaka of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) were recently elevated in their fields of calling having distinguished themselves creditably well.

While Adike is now the Assistant Controller-General of Immigration in charge of Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos, Asiabaka is now the Vice-Chancellor of FUTO. Adike, an honours graduate of History from the University of Ibadan has since joining the NIS undergone various training courses including the prestigious Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) at Kuru, Jos, while Asiabaka got his BSc and MSc degrees in Agriculture from the University of Georgia, Athens, USA in 1981 and1982 respectively and Ph.D in Agricultural Extension from the Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA in 1984. He has held various teaching positions in Louisiana State University before joining FUTO in 1986.

I use this medium to say kudos to you for doing our people proud. I wish you the best in your new posts and urge you to discharge your duties with utmost patriotism and dedication to duty, our people are known for. May the God of our ancestors see you through.

-Sunwp_posts

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Posted by admin on Jun 23 2011. Filed under Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry